Book binding machinery



Oct. 9, 1956 P. LEADER 2,765,732

BOOK BINDING MACHINERY Filed April 28, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I lll l I i I Inuenior PHIL: P LEADER 1 Oct. 1956 P. LEADER 2,765,732

BOOK BINDING MACHINERY Filed April 28, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor PHILIP LEADER Oct. 9, 1956 P. LEADER 2,765,732

BOOK BINDING MACHINERY 7 Filed April 28, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I Inventor PHILIP LEADER BOOK nnsnnsio MACHINERY Philip Leader, Southcourt, Ayleshury, England, assignor to Hunt, Barnard & Qompany Limited, Aylesbury, England Application April 28, 1953, Serial No. 351,651

4 Claims. (Cl. 100-444) The present invention relates to book binding machinery and refers more particularly to machinery for dealing with printed sections of a book after folding, and before passing to the sewing and binding machinery.

It is necessary, before presenting a sewn book to the coverers or binders, to press out all air from between the pages, so that a solid mass, rather than a spongy mass full of air, is presented to the binders. Hitherto, it has been customary to press sections in a smashing press, by heavy pressure suddenly applied, and damage to the operators thumbs or fingers frequently resulted in performing this operation.

According to one feature of the present invention, the air is pressed out from between the pages of a book section in a pressing machine, which is so constructed and operated that a gradually increasing pressure is applied to the book section as it is fed through the machine, between a pair of spaced pressure members.

According to another feature of the invention a succession of such pressures is applied to and relieved from the book Sections during their passage between the pressure members.

According to a further constructional feature of the invention, the pressure is applied to the book sections by means of a pair of co-operating pressure blocks or platens, between which the book sections are passed, which blocks or platens are reciprocated towards and away from each other, and also in a direction at right angles to such movement, by eccentrics on shafts drivingly associated together and with a driving shaft, in such manner that the eccentric shafts of one block or platen rotate in the opposite direction to those of the other block or platen, whereby the book sections are automatically carried through the pressing machine, and at the same time subjected to a succession of pressing operations.

Preferably provision is made for adjusting the spacing between the pressure blocks or platens, as may be required to suit the different thicknesses of book section which may be required to be dealt with from time to time.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into practice, it is illustrated, by way of example only by the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a machine according to the invention, with one of the pressure blocks or platen assemblies shown in vertical section.

Figure 2 is a plan view, half in section on line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the machine, with the upper part cut away to show a section on the line III-III of Figure 1, and showing elements of the driving system for the eccentric rollers.

Figure 4 is an end view of one of the pressure blocks or platens,

Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the bearing members for the pressure blocks or platens, and

Figure 6 is a diagram of the driving system for the platen eccentric rollers.

2,765,732 Patented Get. 9, 1956 Referring to the drawings, the improved pressing machine comprises two spaced side plates 1, 2 connected by upper and lower pairs of parallel rods 3, which serve also as guides for top and bottom supporting plates, carriers or blocks 4 in which there are journalled, with the aid of roller bearings 5 the upper and lower ends of two pairs of shafts 6, which carry eccentric rollers 8, passing freely through bores 7 in the pressure blocks or platens 18, needle bearings being interposed between rollers 8 and the walls of bores 7. Thus, as the shafts 6 rotate, the pressure blocks or platens 18 are reciprocated towards and away from each other and also in a direction parallel to the opposed working surfaces of the blocks.

Referring more particularly to Figures 3 and 6, the lower ends of the shafts 6 project through their lower bearings 5, and carry driving sprockets 9 round which passes a driving chain 10, which also passes around a driving sprocket 11, the shaft of which carries a multigrooved pulley 12 driven by a multiple V surfaced belt 13. The chain 16 also passes round an idler sprocket 14. As will be seen from Figure 6, the chain passes around the two sprockets 9 of one of the blocks 18 on the side remote from the gap between the blocks 4, and round the two sprockets of the other block 13 on the side nearest the gap between the blocks 4. Thus the shafts 6 of each block 18 are rotated in the same direction as one another, but in the opposite directions to the shafts of the other block 18, and accordingly the two blocks 18, 1%, will move in the same direction parallel to the gap and towards or away from each other, as the case may be, in a direction at right angles to the gap.

To permit of adjustment of the minimum width of the gap between the blocks or platens 18, 18, the bearing blocks or members 4, 4, for the eccentric shafts ,6, 6, are adapted to be adjusted along their supporting rods 3 by upper and lower screw threaded spindles 14, which are journalled in the side plates 1, 2, of the machine.

Each spindle 14 has right and left handed screw threads for its two bearing block members 4, 4, so that rotation of the spindles 14 moves the bearings together or apart. One end of the upper screw spindle 14 projects through the side plate 2 of the machine, and carries an operating hand wheel 15, and a sprocket 16, and the corresponding end of the lower screw spindle 14 projects through the same side plate 2 of the machine and carries a sprocket 17. The sprockets 16 and 17 are encircled by a chain 19, so that both screw spindles 14 are rotated simultaneously in the same direction by the one adjusting wheel 15.

The working faces of the pressure blocks or platens 18 may be made of various materials, and the ends of said pressure blocks or platens 18 are preferably rounded or cut away, as shown, so as to widen the entrance to the gap between the blocks or platens, and facilitate the entry between them of a book section to be pressed.

In addition to being a safe machine for manual operation the machine also has the advantage of being substantially silent in operation, since the pressure applying members are rotary members and not reciprocating striking members as in smashing presses.

In using the machine the folded sheets, which are to be compressed, so as to squeeze the air out from between the leaves before presentation to the binding machine, will normally have folded edges along three of its edges only, one edge or end being free from folds. The folded sheets will be fed between the pressure blocks or platens 18 as illustrated in Figure 1, with the edge or end which is free from folds disposed vertically and at the rear, so as to be the last to pass between the pressure blocks or platens.

It will be understood that the spacing of the pressure blocks or platens 18 is adjusted by hand wheel 15 to give the required final thickness to the folded sheets passed through the gap between the platens 18, this adjustment being made equal at top and bottom of the platens 13 owing to the duplication of the adjustment screws 14 and the sprocket and chain drive, 16. 17 and 19.

Reference to Figure 6 will show how the drive automatically accommodates itself to adjustment of the spacing between the platens 18. As the platents 1 8 move inwardly from the full line positions to the dotted line positions the shortening of .the portion of chain round the one pair of sprockets 9 will be equal to the lengthening of the portion of chain round the other pair of sprockets 9. Thus at all times, notwithstanding adjustment of the gap between the pressure blocks or platens 18, the tension of the driving chain will be maintained.

What I claim is:

1. A book binding machine including a pair of oppositely disposed spaced platens having surfaces between which folded book sections are fed; and means for simultaneously reciprocating said platens towards and away from each other, and also reciprocating them in a direction parallel to their surfaces, whereby the book sections are repeatedly compressed in passing between said platens, and simultaneously fed in one direction along their path of travel between said platens, said means including eccentrically journalled rollers passing through said platens, and driving means operative to rotate said rollers simultaneously about their axes of rotation; ibearings at the ends of said rollers; four carriers for the bearings of said rollers; manually operated screw means adapted for adjusting the spacing of two of said carriers at one end of said rollers; screw means adapted for adjusting the spacing of the other two carriers at the other end of said rollers; and means drivingly coupling said two screw means for synchronous and equal operation.

2. A book binding machine as set forth .in claim 1 wherein :said platens are formed with spaced bores turnably supporting said rollers; wherein said bearings are mounted above and below said platens; and wherein said driving means for rotating said rollers rotates all said rollers about their axes of rotation at the same speed.

3. A book binding machine as set forth in claim 2 and including parallel guide rods slidably supporting said can rims and extending parallel to said screw means.

4. A book binding machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein said rollers have axes of rotation eccentric with respect to the axes of said bores of said platens and are arranged in said bores in such manner that the platens first move from an initial position toward each other to grip a book section, then move in a direction parallel to said surfaces in the direction of feed, then move apart to release the book section, and then move in a direction opposite to said feed direction back to said initial position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 320,848 Qathcart June 23, 1885 465,419 Walker Dec. 15, 1891 608,669 Graves Aug. 9, 1898 1,215,613 Brown Feb. 13, 1917 1,720,680 Kleineberg July 16, 1929 1,781,239 Molins Nov. 11, 1930 2,113,514 Molins Apr. 5, 1938 

